Caroline Berenice DeLaine (1843-1925)
Caroline Berenice De Laine was born in Adelaide, South Australia on 3rd December 1843, to Mathurin Charles Leon De Laine and Jane Lucas. The spelling of her last name is recorded as 'DeLaine' for this article as it is the version most commonly encountered for the spelling of the name on official documents. It is believed however that the correct spelling of her surname is De Laine, as used by her father in correspondence and on his marriage certificate. Caroline was the eldest child of the couple, and her siblings were Berenice, Jeanette, Charles (Mathurin Charles Leon jnr), George, Janet, William, Henry, Arthur, Celia and Clara. Sturt Street Caroline's father was a butcher and a police officer who lived on Sturt Street in Adelaide. It was here that Caroline spent her youth, assisting her mother with raising her younger siblings. Caroline's father was French, and it is not known whether he passed any of the language or information on his life in France down to her. Marriage Before her youngest siblings were born, Caroline met her future husband. His name was George Mills and he was a blacksmith and coach-smith who worked in the city of Adelaide. His father, David Mills (mother Emma, nee Hill) was a farmer in the early years of Tea Tree Gully / Steventon area. George emigrated with his parents from Wiltshire UK when he was 5 years old. George and Caroline shared one thing in common - they were born one day apart, George on the 2nd December 1843 and Caroline on the 3rd December 1843, but half a world apart. George in England and Caroline in Australia. It appears that George may have had an accident at some point in which a piece of hot iron or coal hit him in the side of the face. This left a rather nasty scar and as a result, all known photographs of George show him standing side on so the scar can't be seen. They were married on 26/10/1865 and the marriage was reported in the Register newspaper with the following notice:- "On the 26th October, by licence, by the Rev. A Pithouse, at the residence of the bride's father, Mr George Mills, eldest son of Mr David Mills of Tea Tree Gully, to Miss Caroline Berenice, eldest daughter of Mr Charles DeLaine of Sturt Street, Adelaide." Caroline and George started and raised their family in Adelaide. Here two eldest children, George and Charles, were born before her youngest sibling, Clara, was born. Caroline and her mother were pregnant at the same time for the first few years of her marriage. In 1874, Caroline and George's fourth child, Frederick Percival, died at the age of only two years. He had been known by the name of Percy. It appears that the couple felt his death strongly and they buried him in the West Terrace Cemetery in Adelaide. By 1881, the family had moved to Gilbert Street, Goodwood, where the last two children were born. It was around this time that George began working for the company, John Hill and Co. It is believed he was employed as a foreman coach builder. He is listed in the South Australian directories as a coach-smith for the years 1884 and 1885. George was also possibly a partner in this company at some stage. He designed and registered a patent for a new braking system for coaches. The original blueprint of this is still within the family, along with a miniature wooden model of the coach. Later Years In 1903, George was still employed at Hill & Co and attended their annual social event. Details of his attendance are recorded in an article in The Advertiser newspaper on Thursday 24th September, 1903. The article indicated that he had worked for the firm for over 20 years. By this time, he and Caroline were living at Clarke Street, Norwood near her parents home. George died in November 1910 at Clarke Street, Norwood of senile cardiac degeneration and cardiac failure. He was buried in the West Terrace Cemetery, Adelaide. Caroline would survive him by another 15 years, until she died of haemorrage of the brain on the 10th January 1925 at Norwood. She was buried with George in the West Terrace Cemetery. Both are buried with their son, Frederick Percival. Children |- |colspan="3" bgcolor="#FFfce0" style="color: #000000;" |'Children of George and Caroline Mills' References * Information from Helen Wall (nee Mills) *Information from Ken Mills *Information from Jane Harding *National Archives of Australia *The Register newspaper, 26th October 1863 *Births, Deaths and Marriage registrations for South Australia *The De Laine Family History 1840 -2008, by Lorraine Willoughby Category:Born in Adelaide Category:Married in 1865 Category:Married in Adelaide Category:Died in Norwood, South Australia Category:Non-SMW people articles